Social Media and the Buying Cycle

The secret of social media is… timing. More than ever consumers are looking for something relevant and authentic – so you need to make sure that your brand is delivering content exactly when consumers need it.

Social media provides the perfect tools to do this. From brand exposure before purchase to customer support during the use of the product; right through to a relationship with the brand after purchase, social media allows brands to engage with consumers at every stage of the buying cycle.

The Customer Experience Impact 2010 report released last month in the US claimed that 82% of US consumers abandon brands after they’ve had a bad consumer experience. Therefore, if you can ensure that content and support exists for consumers at all points in the buying cycle then you are putting your brand in a very strong position.

Through best of breed monitoring tools social media has given businesses the insights to create a clear picture of what consumers are saying and where they are saying it; better understand consumers’ decision making processes and know how they can meet their specific needs.

Brands can then utilise this information in order to engage online customers in targeted and relevant conversations, adding benefit to their perception of the brand, influencing decision making and ensuring they create loyal customers who will come back again and again.

As you may have realised, it’s impossible to overemphasise how important it is for businesses to use social media to map their social media activity to every stage of the buying cycle of your consumers in order to maximise ROI:

Promotion and brand exposure before purchase

How: Social media monitoring tools allow you to pinpoint your target audience and evaluate the buying cycle for your products and services – as well as your competitors.

You can then use blogs and social networks to engage with prospective customers before the sale, influence decision making and shift behaviour. This allows you to make people aware of your product and how it could fulfil a need they perhaps didn’t even realise they required.

Moment of purchase

How: Once prospective consumers have been made aware of your brand you need to ensure you do everything you can so that they purchase your product or service. This could be through promotion of your product through engagement or advertising.

However, social media also provides an array of other opportunities – from relevant product recommendations to sponsored blog posts, you can now influence consumers at the moment of purchase decision. With the increase in mobile use this could be at the exact moment of purchase, with consumers accessing ratings and reviews for products, from their mobile, while in-store.

Relationship with the brand after purchase – loyalty loop

How: The immediacy of social media means you can track user feedback and offer instant customer support. Using monitoring and analysis you will know what people are saying about your brand and product, deal with problems quickly and efficiently, increase brand advocacy and ensure return on investment.

Understanding your customers’ requirements also means that this is an ideal opportunity to upsell and recommend other products that may interest your customer base.